Hospital Drabbles
by fifthcru5ader and Daybreak
Summary: After Tirek shatters Ballad's horn after a fight, Symphony stays by her hospital bed while she's in a coma. Rated T for the themes.


**Hospital Drabbles.**

**A/N: Just after Tirek takes Ballad's magic and shatters her horn, the hospital had since put her in a medically induced coma and Symphony never left her room. These are some of the things that happened, and the ponies that visited.**

**Day 1: Vinyl and Octavia visit.**

It was two o'clock in the afternoon and Octavia and Vinyl Scratch had come to visit Ballad.

At that moment, Symphony was standing in a corner with her face towards the wall and Octavia was trying to comfort her. Vinyl had her front hooves on the railing of the hospital bed and was leaning over and chatting to Ballad as if she was awake.

"Hey Ballad, remember in Uni, we all had to have a photo in the yearbook?" She used her magic to pluck a dusty and slightly dog-eared school yearbook out of her saddle bag. "Look, there's you, and there's me." She pointed out the younger versions of themselves with her hoof. She scanned the yearbook herself and chortled. "Oh ho ho! Remember this guy?" She turned the book back to Ballad and pointed out a student-age Written Scroll, who was a journalist in Ponyville's newspaper, the Foal Free Press.

"He was always such a geek," Vinyl shook her head with nostalgia, then put the book away and suddenly leaned back over with a tearful look on her face. "come back to us, Ballad. I won't be able to bear it if one of my best friends leaves me so early."

Then, Symphony and Octavia came over to the bed and Symphony sat on the other side of the bed, flashing a sad smile at Vinyl.

"We need to keep our hopes up,"

"The doctors did say she had a good chance of surviving," added Octavia.

Symphony nodded at Octavia and turned back to Vinyl.

"Ballad always told me how much she loved being in Uni with you. Why don't you keep on telling her those old school stories?" Vinyl smiled back at Symphony and nodded, then directing her attention back to Ballad and starting another story of the two unicorns' escapades in University.

**Day 2: Mashed Potato.**

It was five in the evening and Symphony was sitting alone next to Ballad with a tray of mashed potato, veg and gravy on the table next to the bed.

"If you don't wake up, you'll miss this lovely dinner," Symphony urged with a smile, one eye narrowed as it gazed at the innocent-looking but dubious-smelling hospital food. "and you always say, 'dinner will put hairs on your chest'!"

Symphony pressed on Ballad's stomach with her hoof.

"You're skeletal, my dear." Symphony took a spoonful of mashed potato and ate it. "See what you're missing in this delicious dinner."

But then, Symphony swallowed and exclaimed in disgust.

"Even though the mash tastes like plasticine." Symphony resignedly placed the spoon back on the tray. She sighed and leaned her chin on Ballad's chest. "What I wouldn't give for some of the mash that you make, Ballad," she exhaled wistfully as she recounted it. "cooked just right, smooth as a foal's flank, just the right amount of butter,"

A tear came from one of Symphony's dark teal eyes and she sniffed and wiped it away with a hoof.

"That drip must feel horrible in your foreleg," she noted a plastic tube which had been inserted into Ballad's upper front hoof. "I wish you could wake up and get some REAL nutrition."

Symphony raised her head and kissed Ballad on the temple, smoothing her forelock out of her face.

**Day 3: Concerned Concerto.**

"Symphony, why don't you go home and take a shower?" a brown stallion with a tidy dark brown mane was talking to Symphony. This was Symphony's older brother, Concerto. "Your house is only a few blocks away,"

"Over my dead body, Concerto," the yellow mare glowered at her brother. Her breath caught in her throat and she coughed when she realised that it wasn't a good statement to make under the circumstances. She turned her head back to Ballad and lay it back on her chest. She had been like that since Concerto had come to visit.

"But surely you must realise that your fur needs a good wash?"

"There's a sink over there. I'll splash some water on my face later," Symphony crankily raised her head again. "and surely YOU must realise that Ballad is more important to me than my personal hygiene will ever be. I was never married to my personal hygiene, my personal hygiene doesn't keep me warm at night, my personal hygiene doesn't fu-"

"That's enough, sister. I get the picture." Concerto promptly cut Symphony off with an awkward wave of his chocolate-coloured hoof.

Symphony grumbled and rested her head on Ballad's chest again. Concerto approached Symphony and sat down next to her, wrapping a hoof around her and nuzzling her left cheek before telling her,

"I love Ballad too, sister. I am honoured to call her my sister-in-law and there is nopony in Equestria better suited for you." he kissed his sister on the top of the head. "It's just that you need to think about looking after yourself too. Your fur smells horrible - no offense - and you need some fresh air."

Symphony grunted and glared sideways at her brother.

"Oh, don't be like that," he scolded softly. "Listen, why don't you take a walk with me to my house and you can have a nice warm bath, or a shower if you prefer."

Symphony considered, then smiled slightly and nodded.

"A bath _does_ sound rather nice.."

Concerto smiled and got up, followed by Symphony.

The brother and sister both left the room together.

Symphony walked to Concerto's house and had a soothing bath and a packed lunch made for her, then she returned back to the hospital where she sat near Ballad's bedside, faithful as ever.


End file.
